You're not going to run as fast. You're not going to jump as high. You have to pick your moments. The great example when he picked his moment was the playoff game when he went down the middle and dunked, the one he had agains New Orleans center Emeka Okafor] in Game 5 of the first-round series. That was checkmate. He's a warrior and understands the game. All players have injuries. It's part of it and how he can manage it. He's been doing a good job with that. Nobody is going to run and jump [like] when they were 18 or 19. It's impossible for people to think that. As long as he's enjoying the game and keeps the two seven-footers [Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum], I still think he has three, four or five more years to play at a high level.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: A work stoppage may be best for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yes, I said it. Sure, a dispute over money between millionaire players and billion owners is disgusting. And sadly, the season may get cancelled.

A work stoppage would allow Kobe Bryant to get some much-needed rest. His arthritic knee needs time. Same will the bumps, bruises, tears, and strains he’s accumulated over his long and distinguished career.

A season off will let Bryant return as the game’s top player, a title he lost after his Lakers disappointing loss to the world champion Mavericks. And those 'three, four, five years' of great play could become longer.

There’s a parallel to Bryant’s situation down the road in Orange County, California.

In 2004, NHL star Teemu Selanne was considering ending his career due to a shattered knee. Selanne, who notched a remarkable 70 goals as a rookie, was coming off a 16 goal campaign with the Colorado Avalanche.

Like Bryant, his knee had robbed him of all explosiveness. The grind of being a pro athlete had taken its toll.

Then the NHL lockout hit. The 2004-05 season never happened. Rather than ply his trade in Europe, Selanne took a prolonged break.

He returned better than ever. Selanne has posted impressive scoring numbers ever since and notches clutch goals for the Anaheim Ducks. Most importantly, he won a Stanley Cup. All while pushing 40 years of age.

"It's a little strange, going from 11 years and five championships to essentially being out on the street," Shaw said in a phone interview Friday. "But I can feel good knowing that I did everything possible to represent the Laker organization as well as I could."

A loyal employee even to this strange end, Shaw would not comment on any details of his Lakers situation. He said he had been avoiding media interviews until I phoned him, and was reluctant to speak in anything but general terms. "I have always held the Lakers in high standing, and I'm not going to change that now," he said.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: After 11 years as a player and assistant coach, Brian Shaw won’t be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers.

That’s what he’s heard through the media, at least.

The Lakers’ front office still hasn’t contacted Shaw to inform him he won’t be their next head coach. They instead gave the job to Mike Brown, the former sideline boss with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Let's be clear: passing over Shaw isn't the issue. Treating him this way is. The Buss clan, who own the NBA’s glamour franchise, must be more professional.

In today’s interconnected world, they have to talk with Shaw (after all, he was one of three final candidates to be their next bench-boss). Any platform would have worked: email, Facebook, Friendster, Skype, text message.

It’s hard not to think this was personal. Remember, Shaw was aligned with legendary coach Phil Jackson, who often clashed with the front office and is dating the owner’s daughter.

Shaw deserves credit for taking the high road. He avoided bashing the organization, and thanked them.

Bottom line: Shaw showed class. Buss and the Lakers could learn from him.

The Los Angeles Lakers plan to honor their former self-proclaimed Superman, Shaquille O'Neal, by raising his No. 34 jersey to the rafters. "We don't have any specific timetable on this, but you can be assured we will retire Shaq's jersey," said Lakers spokesman John Black in an email on Wednesday.

Lakers owner Jim Buss expressed regret that Kobe Bryant was not consulted about the hiring of Mike Brown. "Looking back on it, we should have contacted Kobe," Buss says. "Kobe said it was management's job to pick a coach. He just said, 'Defense first.' That's what we were doing, but we should have reached out to him.

Scottie Pippen suggested, on ESPN Radio’s Mike And Mike In the Morning, that LeBron James, and not his former teammate, Michael Jordan, could end up being the greatest all-around player the league has ever seen.

“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game, but I may go as far to say LeBron James is probably the greatest player to ever play the game,” Pippen said.

He said James may be a greater all-around player because of athleticism and size. And he said James can a dominate game in more ways than Jordan.

Purists will be offended. After all, Jordan has six championship rings. James has none. Jordan transcended basketball. James gave basketball a bad name with The Decision.

Still, Pippen, in theory, may have a point. James’ rare combination of size, speed, skill, and power gives him a unique advantage over any player to ever grace an NBA floor.

When it’s all said and done, James may eventually be in the same sentence as Jordan. Not now, though.

Here’s the reality: James lacks Jordan’s will and competitiveness. Remember, Jordan overcame the Detroit Pistons’ harsh tactics; upset Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals; handled Clyde the Glyde and Rip City; twice withstood the best John Stockton and Karl Malone, two Hall of Famers, could offer; and defeated Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and the Seattle Sonics.

James has done nothing of the sort. Yet.

Let’s be fair: Jordan had help. It’s interesting his ‘help’ (Pippen) is so quick to deflect praise away from his former teammate and supposed friend towards others.

Maybe Pippen’s statement says more about the rivalry between him and Jordan, and less about James’ place in the game.

"I think the Lakers got them a great coach.” “Mike Brown was a great coach,” James said. “He gave us success that we hadn’t had before in that city. And it started with his defensive concepts. He brought in a defensive mind set that we didn’t have.”

The Thunder has toyed with this disturbing trend throughout the playoffs. Oklahoma City has trailed after one quarter in 11 of its 15 games this postseason. But this was as bad as it's ever been. “Tonight, we didn't trust each other,” said Kendrick Perkins. “We just got to have trust in each other. That's the bottom line.”

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Is Kendrick Perkins a touch too assertive right now?

Yes, he has playoff experience. Yes, he has a championship. Yes, he has a tell-it-like-it-is personality.

Still, it's a bit harsh to publicly declare that the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t trust each other in game three.

Perkins, after all, is new. He joined the Thunder at the trade deadline. He’s a valuable player, but hardly a superstar. That role belongs to Kevin Durant, who isn’t calling out teammates to reporters.

So why should Perkins?

Another question: why is Perkins calling a timeout early in the third quarter of game three? That's the coaching staff's job. Only a few great players can get away with calling for a stoppage in play.

To be fair: I like the burly center. I like the simplicity of his game. If healthy, he’s probably the difference between the Boston Celtics winning and losing game seven of the 2010 NBA Finals.

HoopsVibe`s Very Quick Call: Yes, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday to force a do-or-die game seven on Sunday.

The real debate will be this: charge or block?

After all, Memphis reserve Darrell Arthur threw down a facial for the ages on Nick Collison, but the basket was disallowed because the referees called a charge.

Nobody disagreed more than Memphis` Marc Gasol, who, through his facial expressions, either thought it was a block or finally saw the replay of Lakers coach Phil Jackson abusing brother Pau in game three against the Dallas Mavericks.

Charge or block? Watch the video, make the call, and get at us with thoughts in the comment box below.

The Dallas Mavericks blew out the Los Angeles Lakers in game four of the Western Conference semi-finals, sweeping the two-time defending champions out of the playoffs.

And it wasn’t close. The Mavericks won by 36 points. Team Cuban has to be favoured to emerge from the west.

Back to the soap opera known as the Lakers. This is supposedly Phil Jackson’s final game on the sideline. The Zen-Master is done, and he’ll retreat to his ranch in Montana, cabin in Belize, house boat in Alaska, or some other remote location for 'introspection'.

There are questions about Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, and the Lakers’ bench. Andrew Bynum may be dangled as trade bait to land a certain post from the Orlando Magic, who is set to be a free agent in 2012.

"Dr. Buss has a lot of work to do," said Johnson. "He's probably going to have to blow this team up after the season if the Lakers lose this series because you have to come back with some fresh faces. You have to pick between the two big men with which one you keep and then you trade the other one."

After his clothesline of Dallas guard Jose Barea earned him a one-game suspension, Lakers forward Ron Artest offered no semblance of an apology. "No reaction," Artest said of missing Game 3 Friday in the Lakers' semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks and losing $57,476 in pay. "Ready to move forward."

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: They’re down 2-0 in the Western Conference semi-final against the Dallas Mavericks. Their center says they have ‘trust issues’. Their forward got suspended for game three because he threw a clothesline that would make Georges St. Pierre jealous.

Other than that, it’s business as usual as the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers head to Dallas to resume their series versus Team Cuban.

Jokes aside, the big story in Lakers-land was that Ron Artest refused to publicly apologize for putting his arm on J.J. Barea’s face last night.

Artest shouldn’t say he’s sorry because he recently won the Citizenship Award. He doesn’t owe you, me, or society a thing.

It’s different with teammates. Artest’s lapse earned him a one-game forced vacation, which means the Lakers will be short-handed in their biggest test of the year Friday night.

Of course, he may have apologized privately. We don’t know. And we probably never will.

We know one thing: Friday is a must win for the Lakers and they could have used Artest.

I’m sitting here listening to Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack.” Peep his pimp hand in the music video as he crushes it in front of his ex. That is some grimy ass stuff. Nuff said. If I ever was a wrestler, that is probably my entrance song. Mark Morrison looks like a cross between Grace Jones and DMX, though. The song has nothing to do with Pau and Kobe. Sometimes, it is nice to go back to simpler times. In 2011 Laker land, things are complicated.

Bryant, who is clearly the Lakers best player, was seen walking out of the arena on crutches but says it's going to take a lot for him not to play in Game 5 on Tuesday in LA."It's going to take a lot to stop me to play," Bryant said. "We'll make sure we stay on top of it."

"I would expect a Dwight trade this summer or before the next season starts, from what I'm hearing. Rose likes his core because it's the core he has. He's not opposed to the Bulls improving it."(Ric Bucher, ESPN)

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Teams who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

So the Orlando Magic must give serious consideration to trading Dwight Howard or they risk losing another once-in-a-generation-center via free agency.

In the late nineties, Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic’s franchise face and the game’s most dominating player, left Orlando to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As a Laker, he won three straight championships. The Magic were forced to start over.

Howard, a free agent next summer, is rumored to be looking at bigger markets. He’s been linked to those same Lakers. He’s also been linked to the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets.

The Magic were in the mix to keep their smiling superstar until they blinked this year and changed their roster mid-season with a pair of questionable trades.

Hedo Turkoglu has been decent; however, GM Otis Smith’s gamble on Gilbert Arenas has failed. The Hibachi is out of propane, struggling with shot knees, high expectations that come with a big-ticket contract, and low confidence.

Smith has failed to find Howard a co-star. So Howard, if he wants a championship, will likely find his own co-stars elsewhere.

Smith, despite his denials, will have to be open to a trade. Unless he wants to repeat the past and lose Howard for nothing as a free agent.

It’s that time again for the regular season end awards just like any other television sports show. It is time to pass out the awards. Rather than giving awards for the usual categories such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year….you get the picture…..let’s focus on categories that truly need to be highlighted – categories that I make up! Who cares about those other official awards anyway? They’re already locked up.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for a homophobic slur that commissioner David Stern called "offensive and inexcusable."

After receiving a technical foul during Tuesday's game against the Spurs, Bryant stormed to the bench, hit his seat before sitting down, threw a towel and then yelled "Bennie!" toward referee Bernie Adams. Bryant then leaned back and muttered a gay slur.

To you and me, 100K is a lot of money; however, it’s a mere drop in the bucket for Bryant. After all, the Lakers are paying him a whopping $25 million for the 2011 season.

Stern can’t suspend Bryant for a playoff game, but he can force him to sit a game or two next season. Or, Stern could encourage Bryant to explain his words publicly or even raise awareness of homophobia by partnering with a gay and lesbian organization.

I have an admission to make: I've been pretty bored with the NBA 's regular season. It's not that there haven't been plenty of interesting things going on in the league for the last month, I've just been more interested in getting to the 2 1/2 month marathon that is the Playoffs. But in preparation for the postseason, I re-engaged late last week. And as a reward for my rededication, the Lakers decided to make it worth my while. They're still my pick to come out of the Western Conference, but they've definitely added some intrigue to what may have been an otherwise predictable run to the Finals.

Bryant told Yahoo! Sports on Friday that he and his teammates will endorse the longtime Lakers assistant as Jackson’s replacement. Shaw is in his sixth full season on Jackson’s coaching staff after serving as an assistant to Frank Hamblen during the second half of the 2004-05 season.

“I feel all of the players believe in coach B-Shaw,” Bryant said the Lakers’ Friday morning shootaround. “We have such a rapport with him. He’s been with us for such a long time. We all have a bit of a bias towards him.